The backhoe is one of the most versatile digging tools around. Backhoes can be maneuvered into position in places to dig where other excavation machines cannot go. The digging apparatus of the backhoe includes a hinged and hydraulically driven armature to which a generally semicircular bucket is hingedly connected. Backhoe buckets tend to be about 2 feet wide and connect to the manipulating armature at a like-sized connection plate. This means that ditches and trenches dug with a backhoe have a minimum width of about 2 feet. Bucket extensions and attachments, such as teeth, allow for narrower trenches, but only to limited depths equal to the length of the teeth. Further, as conventional backhoe buckets are scaled smaller, digging operations become less efficient, since after each digging stroke, the bucket must be lifted out of the trench, the armature pivoted away from the open trench, the bucket emptied, and the armature pivoted back into the trench for the next stroke. Additionally, as the bucket is scaled smaller, the problem of dirt packing the bucket becomes more acute, resulting in more difficulty in emptying the bucket after each pass.
There are many situations calling for deep and narrow trenches that a backhoe equipped with a conventional bucket or even a modified bucket just can't address. These trenches must be dug by other means. There are specialized excavation machines designed for digging deep, narrow trenches, such as belt or chain trenchers. While these tools accomplish the task of digging deep, narrow trenches, they are expensive, prone to frequent breakdown, and their use necessitates the purchase or rental of specialized equipment by the contractor, often for one relatively short dig.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus that would take advantage of the versatility of a backhoe system for excavating narrow trenches. The present novel technology addresses this need.